Idaho man receives 18 years in prison for ISIS church plot

US District Judge David C. Nye sentenced 21-year-old Alexander Scott Mercurio to 18 years in federal prison on Tuesday for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group, the New York Post, Big Country News, KBOI, and KXLY.com reported. Judge Nye ordered that Mercurio be placed on lifetime supervised release after completing his prison term. Mercurio had pleaded guilty to the federal terrorism charge last month. [1][2][3][4]

Federal prosecutors stated that Mercurio pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State and planned to carry out an attack against churches in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, according to the New York Post. Prosecutors said he intended to use weapons including explosives, knives, and firearms to carry out the massacre. [1][3][4]

The FBI arrested Mercurio on April 6, 2024, which prosecutors noted was one day before his planned attack, the New York Post reported. Idaho US Attorney John Shirts confirmed the details of the investigation following the sentencing. [1]

The sentencing follows other recent federal terrorism arrests involving alleged plots tied to the Islamic State. As FTMQ News reported earlier, federal authorities arrested a 17-year-old in Texas in October 2026 for plotting an attack targeting Representative Keith Self, while an 18-year-old Minnesota man was arrested the same month for plotting a mass shooting at the Mall of America. [7][8]